Spinach and Lemon Soup with Goat Cheese Ravioli

When I know that I’m going to have an exceptionally busy week at work, I like to make a big batch of something over the weekend that I can bring with me for lunches or dinners. That way I don’t have to worry about making dinner if I get home late, and I don’t waste money eating unhealthy and expensive take-out.

Most “big batch” foods tend to be fairly wintry – soups, chilis, etc – but some soups work well in the warmer weather. This soup is one of them. The lemon juice in the broth keeps it very light and refreshing, almost like drinking a cup of herbal tea.

I loosely based the recipe on Greek Avgolemono, but I omitted the egg white because I hate the texture of eggy soups. I also added some homemade goat cheese ravioli, which was very delicate but helped round the soup into more of a meal. The ravioli were simple to make using prepared wonton wrappers instead of pasta. (I usually find the wonton wrappers in my regular grocery store near the refrigerated soy products and prepared polenta.) I cut them with a biscuit cutter to help seal the edge and remove the excess wrapper. This gave the ravioli a nice scalloped edge and made them super cute!

I served this will no-knead bread for a simple dinner on Sunday and have been eating the leftovers all week.

Spinach and Lemon Soup with Goat Cheese Ravioli

1 tbs olive oil

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 shallot, minced and divided

1 small white onion, chopped

2 cups baby spinach, washed and torn

8 cups chicken or vegetable stock

30 prepared wonton wrappers

4 oz goat cheese

2 oz fat-free ricotta

¼ cup fresh basil, torn plus more for garnish

juice of 3 lemons (mine yielded about ¼ cup)

dash red pepper

Heat oil in bottom of a large stockpot over medium-high heat. Add garlic, shallot, and onion. Cook until soft and fragrant – about 3 minutes. Add spinach and cook until wilted. Add stock. Reduce heat and let simmer.

Meanwhile prepare the ravioli. In a small dish, combine the goat cheese, ricotta, and basil. Spoon about ½ tsp of the mixture onto each wonton wrapper. Brush edges of wrapper with water. Fold in half, and cut with a biscuit cutter to the seal edge and trim off excess wrapper. If needed, press edge together with your fingers to tighten the seal.

Add ravioli to soup and let cook about 3 minutes or until ravioli float to the top. Remove from heat and stir in the lemon juice, red pepper, and additional basil. Allow to cool slightly before serving (the lemon flavor will be very intense at first, but will mellow considerable as the soup cools.